Yummy Sushi Pajamas

I finished The Namesake yesterday.  It was brilliant and wonderful.  I love the writing, I love the story…  It was a little sad, but felt like a real glimpse into people’s lives.  Very cool.

Verdict:A

I almost started reading The Lovely Bones next, but I decided two days before Mother’s Day would decidedly NOT be a good time to start reading a book about a murdered child.  So instead I have moved on to this:

Monica L. Smith’s The Social Construction of Ancient Cities.  This is a decision I may live to regret.

Don’t get me wrong.  The subject matter is right up my alley, and I am a total nerd for it.  However, I haven’t even gotten through the introduction and I have found the following:

• Pg. 6 — totally unnecessary wordiness: “numerous different groups” — Really?  That just sounds like filler.  I know because I used the very same tactic to fill up the last half page of my honors thesis.
• Pg. 8 — typo: groups spelled “gorups” — I know you have an editor.  USE HIM.
• Pg. 9 — Middle School tactic: use of “such as” — Isn’t that what the colon is for?

I haven’t gotten much past all of that yet, and I SERIOUSLY considered abandoning the book altogether.  The only thing that has kept me with it is the fact that the rest of the chapters are NOT written by Ms. Smith, who writes like I did in eighth grade.

So, in the interest of pure nerd, I’ll keep trying.

Today we talked about ways to save money while on WW.  Everyone said that the best was to buy/cook in bulk and freeze whatever you can.  Most people said it was best to divide things into portions right away, before freezing anything, so that it is easier to use when the time comes.  People loved my idea to make a plan for the full week on every weekend, shop for it, and then stick to it throughout the week.

We also talked about the benefits of WW.  Lifetime Membership happens when you reach your goal and maintain it for seven weeks.  After that, you can go to meetings every week and never have to pay.  If you continue to go to meetings, which lots of the successful lifetime members at this meeting said was SO important, you only have to weigh in once a month.  Then you can attend for free as long as you don’t go more than two pounds over your goal.  It seems pretty strict, but it will keep you in line. I also think it proves why it is important to choose a reasonable goal, something you CAN stick to within two pounds without feeling awful about it.  Plus, there’s the obvious stuff like more energy, better health, easier shopping…

Also, apparently Trader Joes carries a peanut butter called “Better ‘n Peanut Butter” that is only 2 points for two tablespoons, and people say it is awesome.  I might run by at lunch and pick some up, and if it’s good I can report back here!

I got a star today for remembering what we talked about last week, one for my 2.4 pound loss, and a smiley face from the receptionist, who thinks I am awesome.

I AM SO PROUD OF ME!  If you’ve been considering a weight loss plan, please do this with me.  You deserve to feel like this too!

Somebody made me cry at work.

Becky, you rock.

I know, super creative title, right?

I think I pulled a muscle in my back or something.  I drove in to work this morning (SO much less cool than reading/sleeping on the bus) and when I turned to look as I backed out of my parking space, I felt a terrible pain along my right shoulder blade.  Now it hurts to exist.  I am currently on a mission to hunt down some Tylenol or something…

In other news, I drove because I get to leave early today and finally have my stitches out!  I am THRILLED because they have been all itchy and irritating of late, and I am so ready to have them gone.  Plus, then I am free to return to the gym and stop being paranoid every time I lean against something and it touches my bellybutton.

I should be leaving around 1:45, which means a thankfully short day.  I feel terrible saying that, but I have had ZERO motivation to work this week… it’s just been one of those weeks.  On the other hand, the WW adventure is still going really well.  I very much recommend this to anyone who is struggling with their weight.  I was really trying to do it on my own and it just wasn’t happening, even though I thought I was being pretty good in terms of calorie intake/output.

Now, on WW, I KNOW I have lost weight this week.  I can already tell, and I am SO excited to get on that scale on Friday morning and have them confirm it for me!  I have had some small struggles in terms of cravings and such, and yesterday in particular I was feeling a little put out by not eating terrible for me things, but in the end I FEEL better.  Physically, my body feels better.  I have more energy already.  Mentally, I am SO proud of myself.

This WILL work! 

I am having some serious snack attack this afternoon.  I ate a serving of Cheez-its, which took up about 15% of my calories for the day and means I have to skip garlic toast with dinner… unless I want to use some of my activity points…

Otherwise, I am doing really well with this whole “diet” thing.  Things should improve exponentially next week when, after finally getting my stitches out, I make my triumphant Return to the Gym!

I am trying to make a list of links I can include in the literature for Project Flutter. Here’s what I have so far:

Individual Blogs
livingacharmedlife.blogspot.com
amendingheart.blogspot.com
afterwords-ashleigh.blogspot.com
antigonelost.blogspot.com
awfulbutfunctioning.blogspot.com
bustedbabymaker.blogspot.com
deadbabyjokes.blogspot.com
rcarmichael05.wordpress.com
wontfearlove.blogspot.com
makeustronger.blogspot.com
missingmicah.blogspot.com
mrsspitspouts.blogspot.com
myresurfacing.blogspot.com
maryellenandsteve.wordpress.com
jpawsprints.blogspot.com
pleasegivemebackmyheart.blogspot.com
becca-bella.blogspot.com
theunlucky20percent.blogspot.com
the-para-graph.blogspot.com
williamhenryjohnson.blogspot.com
erinnewmanlong.blogspot.com

Group Blogs
www.glowinthewoods.com

Support Sites
silentgrief.com — Support for all who have suffered miscarriage and later child loss
http://www.stillbirthalliance.org/ — International Stillbirth Alliance
http://www.babyloss.com/ — provides information and support online for anyone affected by the death of a baby during pregnancy, at birth, or shortly afterwards.
http://www.ourforeverbabies.com/ — a community of friends who have come together to support each other.

Memorabilia
www.thumbies.com — personalized jewelry with the handprint, footprint or fingerprint of a loved one.
giftsforyounow.com — personalized gifts
myforeverchild.com — Keepsakes and jewelry for remembrance, healing, and hope.

Charities
www.nilmdts.com — Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep — Infant Bereavement Photography.

Please let me know if you’ve found anything else that was helpful to you.

Dear Weekend –

Ha ha.  I win!  I did not give in to your seductive food charms.  I stayed on track.  I ate right, and I feel good about it!  Imagine that!

I managed to spend the weekend enjoying time with my fabulous husband, hanging out with good friends, and eating GOOD food!  I made a great Mediterranean chicken recipe I found on the WW website and I even ate out without bombing!

I am proud of me, and now I am super excited to go to my meeting again this Friday because I KNOW I am going to lose weight.  I weighed myself at home and have already lost two pounds!  I am not officially counting that though… 

I am so interested to see how this will play out.  I was trying to be careful with food before now, sticking to a certain calorie range and trying to increase my fruits and veggies, but this is so much better.  Points are easier and the WW website makes it so simple because it counts everything for me!

I am excited that this might be the beginning of some real, noticeable change! 

Next up, Challenge #2 - Work Lunch.  My department is taking us out sometime this week for a lunch to celebrate Admin Professionals Day, which has come and gone.  I know what I need to do, but the issue (as always) is doing it…

I’ve spent the whole day rotting my brain while watching the True Life marathon on MTV.  Scary, right?

Tonight, I’ll be driving to Baltimore to see my awesome friend Amanda in her belly dance show!  It is a little far to drive, but totally worth it to see her performance.

So far, I have been able to hang on to this Weight Watchers thing.  I was perfect yesterday and have done very well so far today.  I was worried that the weekend would be a challenge, and there is still tomorrow to get through, but overall I think I’m going to make it through this just fine.

Hope everyone has a weekend that gives them more than this to write about!

I finally finished this one, God Against the Gods by Jonathan Kirsch.

Overall, I thought it was pretty decent.  He is clearly biased for paganism here, but if you can read past that a bit, you end up getting a pretty interesting historical overview of the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

I think it would be a great read for anyone interested in Rome, religion, ancient history, etc…  Just maybe not fundamentalist Christians, who would likely be offended by the author’s slant.

Verdict: B+

Next?  This one, a gift from Rasee:

I did it.  I signed up for Weight Watchers this morning.  And now?

I am totally kicking myself.  Why didn’t I wait?  Why didn’t I give myself one more weekend?

Of course THAT is exactly the sort of thinking that has me needing WW meetings in the first place so… I’m cool with it.  This weekend is going to be tough because I have developed the habit of working really hard all week and then going food crazy on the weekends.

Happily, I lost another pound this past week, which means I am still going in the right direction.  Of course, the WW scale is three pounds heavier than mine at home, which means my little weight loss counter in the sidebar is going to go UP instead of DOWN, but I think I can come to terms with it.

Added bonus?  The meeting site is quite a ways from my office, so I am now guaranteed a half hour walk every Friday morning!